Saturday 29 April 2017

A Quick Blanket Teaser!

Cool pastel grey blue satin underneath a strip of crocheted fabric, the centerpiece of which is a teddy bear's brown face on a white square with a blue border. The horizontal strip is made of three squares joined together in a row with only the centre one showing in full. The satin can be seen above and below the teddy bear square fabric.
A teddy bear square
with satin fabric


If you are following the progress of the baby blanket with the satin backing,  rest assured, progress is being made!



Sewing needle in hand, I'm pleased with the way the satin backing is joining the crocheted blanket and I shall leave you with a quick new picture:



The reverse edge of the baby blanket arranged in horizontal strips of colour. Brown across the top is the brown worktop. Yellow scalloped crocheted edging joined to the blue crocheted blanket by a row of yellow filet crochet.  The blue crochet is fabric made with half treble stitches (Australian/UK terms).  The pale blue satin edge is hem stitched to the back of the blanket along a row of blue half trebles.
Reverse side of blanket edge
The satin backing is sewn to
the crocheted blanket with a slip stitch.






The details will need to wait for a later blog entry because I am too busy trying to complete the blanket (and other projects) as soon as possible despite the interference of fatigue and other unexpected events:

"Work now, write later."









 After my recent blog post about fatigue, friends have asked me,
"How do you do all that you do?"


The immediate answer is, "I don't!"  
I don't do everything I want to do when I want to do it.
Some things never get done at all! 



It's all about prioritising; 'an opportunity taken is another foregone' and all that jazz…

Hence fewer blog entries during April.  Blogging needs to take a back seat until this project is DONE!


a swathe of pale blue-grey shiny satin fabric.
A swathe of pale, cool blue, shiny, slippery satin!

Only then will it be time to tell the story of that slippery satin that wouldn't be tamed and to share some tips about managing 'life' with chronic illness; e.g. prioritising parenting, household, health and hobbies; if that's where your interest lies. 


Do you have a preference? 
Which should I write about first? 
I love to know what you think.  


Please keep those questions coming, in either the comment boxes below or email jodiebodiecrochets@gmail.com

You may have noticed that my responses can be quite wordy, once you get me started. Don't let that put you off–rather, join in with the conversation. Humour me!

Thank you for all the supportive comments and messages. They are most appreciated and helpful and certainly lifted my spirits.

Thank you!


Anyway, that's enough from me for now…where's that sewing needle?


Related Posts on Lupey Loops


"Self-doubt and Sleeplessness on a Wednesday Morning", 19 April 2017: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2017/04/self-doubt-sleeplessness-on-wednesday.html

"Blue Skies and Blue Satin", 18 March 2017: http://lupeyloops.blogspot.com.au/2017/03/blue-skies-and-blue-satin.html

16 comments:

  1. Your satin backing is looking good. I don't sew therefore would make a right mess of it I'm sure. When you are a crafter, it is very important to prioritize the making of things. :) So much of what we think needs doing really doesn't. I'm learning to let go of long held expectations and ideas.

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    1. Hi Tammy,
      Thanks for taking time to drop by and leave your thoughts.
      Regarding the making a mess of things, I needed lots of practice with the satin offcuts before I was confident to work with the main piece. I discovered that it is very easy to make a mess of satin and I certainly did that, don't you worry!

      Accepting that mistakes are part of the learning process, I didn't let them worry me. It's a state of mind in much the same way as the 'letting go of things' you mentioned.

      With the major changes that illness has caused in my life, there has been much 'letting go' and changing of priorities and expectations. Some voluntarily, others reluctantly and indignantly! I must take your advice and maintain the creative side of life as a priority.

      I wish you all the best with your changing expectations and ideas. What has been the spark of change for you?

      Take care, Tammy, and I will see you on your blog sometime again soon. xx

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  2. Glad to see you back to your projects Jodie. I must say I would be a little daunted by lining the blanket with that slippery satin but looks like you've nailed it. Yes prioritization is the key to juggling all we have to do. Would love to hear your top tips! Have a wonderful week my friend :)

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    1. Hi Tamara,

      Thank you for all your support, especially recently as times have been tough. I will work on some blog posts about some management tricks.

      Again, prioritisation skills have come to the fore in the past fortnight due to further health issues and it has meant delays in replying to all of these lovely comments and emails but I will get there eventually!

      When I decided on satin, I was thinking of tactile comfort for the little one, not realising what I was getting myself into! I should have cottoned on to the clues when, doing a search for satin and blankets, every item was about satin blanket bindings (edges) and nothing about a full satin lining. If I had known the challenges I was in for, I am not sure that I would have made the same decision but I am pleased with the result. A proper update soon!

      I hope your week was wonderful and full of joyful crafting. xx

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  3. Now that is an impressive make, I am not sure I would have the confidence to line with satin. The teddy bears are a delight. Sorry to hear you are not doing so well hope your flare up calms down soon, take care.

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    1. Haha, Lorraine! Thank you for your vote of confidence. Since you are a very experienced crafter, your feedback means a lot and is appreciated very much.

      I am laughing because I think my satin lining was not so much a confidence issue but more "fools rush in ... " hehehe.

      Yes, I hope the flares calm down too. Little did we know in the days following your message here, I would find myself in a spot of bother again, hence the late replies. I am hoping that things will improve soon.

      I hope all is well in your (new) world as you settle into the new home and neighbourhood. How exciting!

      Have fun!

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  4. I admire your stick-to -it -tive- ness with that slippery satin backing. It would drive me bonkers and kick my anxiety into high gear. I love your blog and would like to hear more about how you cope with the myriad of things life throws at you (us) as we knit and crochet and navigate this thing called life.

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    1. Haha! I love your description, Mary-Anne: "stick-to-it-tive-ness" ! Yes, I did stick to the plan but, oh my goodness, NOTHING sticks to satin! Not even itself! Even with water spray (which I was warned not to do for fear of permanent watermarks) it was nigh impossible to iron any sort of crease or fold. The satin just would not stay or stick where I wanted to put it; so slippery it was.

      Somehow I learned to let the fabric take the lead and it all worked out. I can't wait to put it all together to share with you. I am ready to get photos together so it won't be long (although 'long' is a relative term - in my world at the moment, getting anything done within a fortnight is 'quick').

      Thank you for letting me know what you like to read about. I will definitely share some coping and survival tricks and tactics, with some funny anecdotes thrown in as well.

      There are worse ways to navigate life than with knitting needles and crochet hooks! ;-) I hope you are well and enjoying life. xx

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  5. I love this post Jodie, (and your wordy comments😉) the blanket teaser is amazing! I certainly know a bit about the juggling act with lupus etc! I'm afraid my blog has been rather neglected too since I've had my Etsy shop! Some things really do have to go but it's more likely to be housework than craft!! 😂😂 enjoy the rest of your weekend. X

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    1. Hi Sharon,

      It sounds like your priorities are sorted - housework can be delegated while crafting, not so much. I love that you are proficient in many different crafts.

      It sounds like your Etsy shop must be doing well. I am interested to know what sort of time commitment Etsy requires. I was invited to join the local regional Etsy group because I have an Etsy shop space but I just need to sort out the money handling and get some photos made. In order for anything to be successful, one needs to put energy in. I am worried I may not have the energy to do it but I figure that once it is up and running with an established routine, it shouldn't be too hard. Tell me that it is easy, Sharon!

      My blog will always be the priority I think. It is a way to stay connected with you and all my crafting friends and also a therapeutic activity.

      Lupus certainly is a juggling act and it is a shame that you know about that first hand but we make the most of what we have.

      I'm glad that you like wordy comments! I also hope that you read the replies to everyone else as well because I don't like repeating the same news comment after comment. I hope each reply has something different to offer and, although each comment is personally aimed at the individual recipient, the replies are in a public space for everyone to read. Email is always there for private personal communication too.

      I like that the blog posts can be a little more formal but the comment space is a place to be more informal and conversational.

      The weekends have been busy, thank you, Sharon, but all good.
      All the best on the business, health, creativity and family fronts ;-) Cheers!

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  6. Sewing needles and I do not get along at all. Well done you ma-am. I am impressed!

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    1. I'm impressed too, Cat, because I don't get along well with sewing needles either!

      Any hand-sewing is laborious and tricky. There's something about the eye-hand coordination and the fine movement involved. When it comes to crochet, I realise now that I don't use my eyes as much as I use my sense of touch.

      Thank goodness for sewing machines! :-)

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  7. You are brave. There are only a few things I fear more than slippery satin :-)
    Amalia
    xo

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    1. Thank you Amalia. I am not so sure that it is brave - remember that the flipside of 'bravery' is 'stupidity'!

      I was trying to remember the quote and came across these but they had no attributions I'm afraid:

      "The line between bravery and stupidity is so thin that you don't know you've crossed it until you're dead."

      "Bravery is rewarded stupidity."

      Perhaps the latter could describe my experience with the satin! :-O

      The good news is that everything turned out okay! :-)

      Thank you for your encouragement though. It is good to know that I am not as clumsy as the satin is tricky!

      May your projects be much easier! xx

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  8. Aww!! the teddy is cute..

    Please visit: http://from-a-girls-mind.blogspot.com

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    1. Thank you Krishna. I agree with you! I love the cute wiggly ears. Do you and your son like teddy bears? I wonder whether you have made one of crochet or cross-stitched a teddy picture for him. I had a look on your blog and I like your resourcefulness.

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